The highlight of the fixture will be TWO double-headers at the State Basketball Centre on Saturday 25 November and Sunday 26 November, with all the WNBL teams coming down to Melbourne to battle it out in a round 8 spectacular.

Teams will play 21 games across 13 rounds through the regular season and the broadcast deal with FOX Sports will see one game per round, plus every finals match, shown live through to 2019-20.

“After a two-year absence from TV, the league is thrilled that FOX Sports will provide us with a platform to showcase Australia’s longest running elite female competition, a league that will be packed full of globally elite talent,” Head of WNBL Sally Phillips said. “It’s great to see so many Opals heading back to Australia to play – Abby Bishop, Liz Cambage, Jenna O’Hea, Rachel Jarry, Nat Hurst, Katie-Rae Ebzery and Cayla George to name just a few.

“The WNBL is excited to welcome back these stars for season 17/18.”

The season begins on 6 October with a triple-header as the University of Canberra Capitals take on Bendigo Bank Spirit while the Jayco Dandenong Rangers host Deakin Melbourne Boomers to reignite their cross-town rivalry for the Michele Timms Cup.

The following night, 2012 Olympic team mates and winners of six of the past seven WNBL MVPs will meet on court when Cambage’s Boomers take on Suzy Batkovic and the JCU Townsville Fire.

Their match-up will be the first time Boomers fans get a chance to see Cambage on their home floor.

Round 2 is a Country special with the Boomers heading to Geelong on Friday 13 October while Bendigo hosts Perth. Dandenong will host their regional round in Round 7, taking Bendigo down to Traralgon for an all-Victorian thriller on Sunday 19 November.

The best way to see your Bendigo, Dandenong and Melbourne WNBL stars is up close and in person – with 33 WNBL games held in Victoria, so the easiest way to see the action is to head along, buy a membership and support your team.